MovieChat Forums > The Fighting Kentuckian (1949) Discussion > Embarrassing even for 'Laurel and Hardy'

Embarrassing even for 'Laurel and Hardy'

posted 11 years ago by scheelj1
6 replies | jump to latest

This is one of the worst John Wayne movies of his prime years. There’s a reason you probably haven’t heard of it. Not an action movie, this goofy box office flop co-stars Oliver Hardy (“Laurel and Hardy”). I would compare it more to “Donovan’s Reef” and Wayne’s “comedies” more than his good westerns. I found myself fast forwarding through parts of this because its just painful to watch. The plot is an uninteresting tale about Kentucky militia in the 1800’s that for some reason are helping out French families who have been banished to Louisiana. It has one battle at the very end and its not worth the wait. 1 out of 5 action rating
(www.actionrating.com)

[–] slazenger_7 11 years ago

You must have not read any of the 16 reviews of this film which gave the clear impression that this film is not that obscure. Not only that, each of those posted film reviews were pretty much unanimous that the onscreen chemistry between Oliver Hardy and John Wayne was rather great. Also, this film was no box office flop by any means. This film was a box office hit which first put John Wayne on the Top Ten Box Office Movie Stars list in the year 1949...Where Wayne stayed (with the exception of 1958) up through 1974...25 years, an all-time record.

[–] scheelj1 11 years ago

And apparently you did not read the IMDB trivia section literally right above this which states, "John Wayne later blamed the failure of the movie on co-star Vera Ralston," implying this was a flop by Wayne's own admission. Also, please reference the link below which shows that this ranked 57th out of John Wayne's 72 major motion pictures.
http://cogerson.hubpages.com/hub/John-Wayne-Inflated-Box-Office-Results-from-His-Best-Worst-and-all-the-rest-of-movies

Haha, but I guess since 16 other people liked it, I should like it too.

[–] slazenger_7 11 years ago

The IMDB trivia section (in general) is known to misquote and misinform on quite a few items. And they provide no proper references or cited sources for their "trivia"...This movie contributed in putting the Duke on the Top 10 B/O Stars list in '49. And that link you provided are of the 72 John Wayne BOX OFFICE HITS...In case you didn't understand. The 16 reviews reflect the appeal of this film of which the vast majority were in favor of this film. That is a good percentage...It doesn't mean that you have to like it, too...Just that your opinion (so far) is a minority of ONE...LOL

[–] joe_538 8 years ago

1. The trivia actually says, "John Wayne later blamed the poor critical response to the movie on co-star Vera Ralston." What the critics thought doesn't make it a financial flop. According to http://www.ultimatemovierankings.com/john-wayne-movies/ it made the modern equivalent of $84,400,000.

2. Your link doesn't lead anywhere

3. 16 out of 16 liked the teaming with Ollie, I guess you're just 'different'.

Embarrassing even for 'Laurel and Hardy'

Don't try to downgrade Laurel & Hardy, they're one of the greatest comedy teams in history.

There’s a reason you probably haven’t heard of it.

If a person is on the message board for The Fighting Kentuckian, it's safe to assume they've heard of it.

[–] Zantor169 8 years ago

Not sure why some don't like this movie. I like it, has some action, some drama and some comedy. And does the mixture nicely. I guess to each their own.

[–] bari2525 8 years ago

The OP is merely a troll, and as all trolls behave, he is quite typical...

He spouts half-truths, and parades them as facts, and by his own admission, never saw the entire movie.

Let him (or her) go back to watching "The Care Bear Movie," as it is obviously better suited to his "tastes"

I don't act...I react. John Wayne